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Jim McClelland, the wonderfully energetic and passionate leader of Goodwill Industries, looked concerned the other morning. A leading advocate of early learning programs in the city, McClelland mentioned to me the depressing comments he'd seen online after a recent column appeared in this space about the need for state-funded pre-K programs.

"I hope that's not the general feeling," he said of the comments, which labeled early learning programs as little more than examples of wasteful spending and big government liberalism.

Well, I said, I don't think those comments from a few people represent the general sentiment of all Hoosiers. Moreover, the comments are a slap at the many conservatives I know who see the long-term merit of such programs -- academically, financially and socially. Although Indiana leaders don't yet appear ready to join those in 39 other states who have seen the wisdom of investing in early learning programs for at-risk, low-income children, there appears to be movement in the right direction.

"I really hope that's true," McClelland said.

I believe it is, based on the momentum moving through the local education world. For instance, both major-party candidates for governor this year have at least paid lip service to the issue of early learning. That might not sound like a big deal. But things move slowly in Indiana, and our politicians are often cautious, so the candidates' acknowledgement that pre-K is crucial and beneficial is a welcome first step.

Let's take signs of momentum wherever we can find them.

On Wednesday morning, the momentum could be seen among three dozen people gathered to hear about the need for more and better early learning programs and high-quality child care. The event was organized by Day Nursery Association of Indianapolis, a nonprofit that hopes to open a new infant and toddler care center next year to meet the huge unmet demand for such facilities.

High-quality centers are crucial at a time when many are beginning to realize the tragedy behind the state's refusal to crack down on poorly run child-care facilities, such as one federal authorities raided last week and which has a history of horrendous conditions.

"We don't have enough Day Nurserys in this state," Ted Maple with United Way told the crowd.

Maple pointed to child-care centers that have been found to keep infants in their cribs all day and to park toddlers in front of TVs for hours at a time. Unlike centers run by nonprofits such as Day Nursery and St. Mary's Child Center, as well as some for-profit groups, many of the city's child-care centers do nothing to grow young minds. Reports of neglect are not uncommon, and parents of little means have few good options.

"I want you to think about the number 700," Maple said. "Children in the first three years of their lives have 700 neural connections per second. And at 18 months we already see vast differences in children."

Meaning: the achievement gap forms early, and without quality child care and pre-K programs, many kids enter kindergarten already on the path to failure.

Fortunately, many people and organizations are tackling this inequity. United Way has emerged as a leader. And although I don't typically sit at my laptop pontificating about the wonders of corporate America, PNC Bank's efforts are worthy of high praise, as the company has become a crucial supporter of early learning programs. Several years ago, PNC decided to commit $350 million to such programs in the markets it serves, including Indianapolis.

"We have a lot of work to do here," Connie Bond Stuart, with PNC, told the early morning group last week. "We know that. But we are not going to give up."

They're not alone.

A day after that event, I sat in a Greenwood home as a local nurse met with a 17-year-old girl who is due to give birth later this fall. They are part of a program called the Nurse-Family Partnership, which seeks to make sure low-income, first-time mothers make healthy decisions during pregnancy and are prepared for the challenges of motherhood. The nurses work with the young woman during pregnancy and for up to two years after they deliver.

The young woman in Greenwood is still two months away from giving birth. It won't be long, however, before her child walks into a local school. The goal of the Nurse-Family Partnership is to make sure that child arrives there healthy, and that everything is done to take full advantage of those 700 neural connections per second that will soon be firing.

When it comes to bridging the achievement gap that harms children of poverty, Indiana has a long way to go to catch up with other states. But at least signs of hope have emerged.